May: Square Fete and more!

Australian new-music collective halfsound are a dynamic, award-wining ensemble at the forefront of modernity. Based within the tradition of western art music, they give performances that always have a strong foundation in the music of today. Their performances aim to create an experiential sonic world in which sounds are linked to underlying themes and theatrics in order to maximize accessibility. Their sonic vocabulary comprises ensemble and solo works written by a wide variety of composers from around the world. halfsound understand the importance of collaboration in music as a means of artistic exchange, and as such they have featured many leading Australian and international interpreters of modern music as guest artists in their programmes. halfsound is jointly directed by two Australian saxophonists, Mr. Matt Hinchliffe and Ms. Ali Fyffe.

 Both Matt and Ali are graduates of the Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts of the University of Melbourne in Australia and have worked together for seven years. As collaborative partners, they are in high demand and have performed extensively throughout Australia and abroad. They have twice toured Australia, once in 2012 and again in 2014 and in 2013 they undertook an extensive tour of the south of France. They have also performed in New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, China, Hungary, Italy, and the United Kingdom in various capacities. They also regularly commission new works from composers and have many works attributed to them. halfsound have received much recognition in Australia and abroad in the form of a number of prestigious awards. Most notably, they have received 1st prize in the Musical Society of Victoria Chamber Music Competition, People’s Choice Award at the Gisborne International Music Competition, 3rd prize in the Marco Fiorindo International Chamber Music Competition, the Alan C. Rose Memorial Trust Award and the Athenaeum Prize for Chamber Music among many others.
halfsound are currently based in Hanoi, Vietnam where they are working on numerous projects in the region. Their 2015 concert season will include concerts across Asia and the Middle East as well as many commissions and other independent concerts.

Date and Time: 9 May 2015 @ 830pm
Venue: 39A, Jalan SS2/55, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Contact: 016-3618504
Admission: minimum donation RM30

Performers: Australian saxophonists duo Halfsound, Mr. Matt Hinchliffe and Ms. Ali Fyffe

Program:
Murasaki No Fuchi (for saxophone duo) - Ryo Noda
Hard (for tenor saxophone solo) - Christian Lauba
Mysterious Morning III (for soprano saxophone solo) - Fuminori Tanada
Tre Pezzi (for tenor saxophone solo) - Giacinto Scelsi
Sequenza IXb (for alto saxophone solo) - Luciano Berio
Teintes (for saxophone duo) - Etienne Rolin

Date/Time: 10th May / 12pm - 6pm

Venue: Space. Toccata
39A, JLN SS2/55, 47300 Petaling Jaya.

Admission is FREE!!!

1pm: Contemporary Dance and Chinese Drums + Mobile Phone Orchestra

2pm: Singer-songwriters session

3pm: Cake Project 

4pm: WVC Trio +1 

5pm: POLKA • Playground 

Come by and hang out with us at Space. Toccata.
we've got food, an amazing line up, and great conversation!

Kindly RSVP by 5th May, hope to see you then!

Call/text 016-3618504 or email etoccata@gmail.com to reserve your seats now! 

April updates!

'What If...' 

Our lives are shaped by the decisions we make, be they made consciously or otherwise. These decisions are influenced by our lived experiences and will in turn influence our lives; each decision leads to an outcome, another decision, a different path. 

'What If...' explores the concept of decision-making, questions the idea of grappling with change and how free we are to pick and choose. 

Choreography: Steve Goh

Music: Ng Chor Guan

Dance Dance Dance Showcase 'Rainbow' 

Dance Dance Dance is now about to embark on its 6th run and 'Rainbow' is the accumulation of both instructor and students' hard work. A poignant piece about dream and memory, 'Rainbow' examines their intangibility and ambiguities. 

Choreography: Steve Goh

Dancers: Anjoey Chong, Bee Yen, Emily Tan, Eliza Wong Chuen Foong, Viennie C, Sze Ching Lee 

Date/Time: 

18 April 2015 (Saturday), 8.30pm 

19 April 2015 (Sunday) 3pm

Venue: 

Space.Toccata, 

39A, Jalan SS2/55, 

47300 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Admission by minimum donation: RM30

For more information please contact 016-361 8504 / 011 3302 9688 or email etoccata@gmail.com. 

Don't miss the premier of "What If..." in Malaysia!

"RAINBOW" by Dance Dance Dance 5.0

"What if..." by Steve Goh, original music by Ng Chor Guan

Please browse our youtube website to watch the teaser if you've missed it.

Here is the youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58zoZRXxZok

New Music Series is back! This installment features the instruments from the brass family of Western classical music. 

Musicians: 
Chai Kee Hong (French Horn)
Heng Zhi Wen (French Horn)
Kok Shu Liang (Trombone) 
Tan Qin Wei (Trumpet)

Conductor: Ng Chor Guan 

Date/Time: 24/4/2015 (Friday), 8.30pm 
Venue: Space. Toccata, 39A, Jalan SS2/55, 47300 Petaling Jaya. 
Admission by minimum donation of RM25

Call/text 016-3618504 or email etoccata@gmail.com to reserve your seats now!

March is here!

What is CAKE PROJECT?

CAKE PROJECT is a micro crowd-funding project by Toccata Studio which aims to build a strong and diverse network of local art practitioners and audiences. It started as a nostalgic idea of wanting to recreate the atmosphere of Sunday afternoon chit-chat with tea and cakes among friends and family where one could bounce ideas about each other. The current version of CAKE PROJECT is a better structured one where ideas can be turned into projects with the money from the audience and arts community. 

Who goes to CAKE PROJECT? 
People who want to share and realise their creative ideas and people who want to see new things come to live and help artists realise their projects! 
• Dreamers (presenter): eager people who have creative ideas and want to realise them! (We welcome all art practitioners, professional and amateur alike!)
• Audience (voters): people who want to see and hear new, creative things and support them.

How does CAKE PROJECT work?
CAKE PROJECT happens bi-monthly on odd months (i.e January, March, May etc). There is a PRIZE POT in a corner of Toccata Studio where people can contribute any amount CAKE PROJECT. Admission to CAKE PROJECT is at a minimum of RM15 per person, which adds on to the accumulated amount in the PRIZE POT, which will go to the winner at the end of the day. In return, audience and presenter will both enjoy tea and a slice of homemade cake sponsored by kind aunties in the neighbourhood.
• Each presenter is allocated 15 minutes of the floor: 10 minutes for presenting their idea + 5 for a quick Q&A session.
• At the end of the presentation period, each person is entitled to one (1) vote of their choice.
• Votes will then be collected and counted by Toccata Studio while everyone enjoys a slice of homemade cake with coffee or tea.
• Occasionally there may be performances or talks by special guests; sometimes past winners of CAKE PROJECT will return to share the progress of realising their project.
• The project with the most votes wins, and is the recipient of all the money in the PRIZE POT. 

If you would like to come to CAKE PROJECT as a Dreamer, do not hesitate to contact us. Submit a simple write up (no more than 200 words) about your idea/project to etoccata@gmail.com.

If you would like more information before making a decision, do not hesitate to contact us:

phone: 016－3618504 / email: etoccata@gmail.com.

please browse our YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC-KwEQ28-k

Fans and friends of FUGU, take note! 

FUGU has returned and will be playing at Good Friends Cafe 10th March. 

Date/Time: 10/3/2015 (Tuesday), 8.30pm 

Venue: Good Friends Cafe, 15 & 17, Jalan SS 15/8a, Ss 15, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor

Admission by minimum donation of RM30 

Early birds pay RM25 with special gift! (before 5/3/2015)

Call/text 016-3618504 or email etoccata@gmail.com to get your seats now!


Please browse our youtube website to watch the teaser if you've missed it.

Here is the youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzp1oSHStEo

喜见花开 / 朵拉个展

日期/时间：2015年3月15日（星期日）下午3点

地点：Toccata Studio，SS2宝光金钻行楼上 

欲知详情请拨电至 016-3618504。

New year, new performances!

Date/Time: 11/1/14 (Sunday) 3pm 

Venue: Toccata Studio 

Admission by min. donation: RM40 

Drawing inspiration from the many facets of modern life, influenced by Malaysian and other Asian cultures, the music of WVC TRiO +1 cuts across many musical genres and defies any kind of classification. Tunes such as “The Art of the Wind Up Alarm Clock”, “Found and Lost”, “Standing in the Rain on Euclid Avenue” tries to examine and express the human condition in modern life, using the art form known as "jazz" as its stylistic musical vehicle. 

Formed in 2006 as a trio, WVC TRiO +1 completed its quartet line up with the addition of saxophonist Julian Chan. The group has toured extensively in the region, heralding back the spirit being "on the road" of touring jazz bands of old. Through these regional tours, WVC TRiO +1 has brought its music to many corners of Malaysia, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Macao. In one of these tours, the quartet managed to travel extensively over 18 cities within a month, using different means of transportation, playing in many different types of venues.

WVC TRiO +1 has three instrumental albums - “WVC TRiO” (2008), “ELEVEN” (2009), “In the Dark, I See Her” (2011) - that explored different musical genres (while maintaining the spirit of jazz as its core) and combinations in its line-up. Most of the tunes recorded are original tunes written by the band members. In addition, the band also experiments with transforming unlikely pop tunes, Chinese classics, and many mainstream music into new jazz re-arrangements, in the spirit of the great jazz musicians of old.

WVC TRiO +1 has been invited to appear in many festivals in the region such as Taichung Jazz Festival, Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival, Phuket International Jazz Festival, Tianjin International Jazz Fest, Macao International Jazz Week and many others. In addition, the band has played extensively in the Malaysian local jazz clubs, from No Black Tie, Nero Fico, (the now defunct) Venue, and many others.

The present incarnation of the WVC Trio + 1 consists of bandleader/composer/arranger/music director/pianist Tay Cher Siang, bassist AJ, drummer KJ Wong and saxophonist Julian Chan. The band remains one of the most active units in the Malaysian performance circuit and is one of the most sought after bands in Malaysia for Hi-Fi recordings and live performances.

Gerry Hemingway - Drum Set, Composer

Sarah Weaver - Composer 

Gerry Hemingway’s solo concert program will premiere two new solo works composed by Sarah Weaver along with a selection of acoustic works that are from the vast solo repertoire Mr. Hemingway has developed over the past 40 years.

Date and Time: 20 January 2015, 8.30pm

Venue: Toccata Studio, 19B ,SS2/55, 47300 PJ

Admission: minimum donation RM30

Contact: 016-3618504

This performance is co-organized with KLEX KL Experimental Film and Video Festival 

吉隆坡实验电影节 

Partially supported by Pro Helvetia, Liminal Music Inc.

photo credit: Erika Kapin Photography

POLKA • PLAYGROUND is returning to Toccata Studio this 23rd January! 

NG CHOR GUAN (theremin and laptop)
JIMMY CHONG aka JIMMY ZHAI (percussion)
GIDEON ALUBAKHAN CHEN (zither)

Date/Time: 23/1/2015 (Friday), 8.30pm
Venue: Toccata Studio
Admission by min donation: RM30

Call/text 016-3618504 to reserve your seats now!

Rosalind Phang: A Solo Piano Recital

Rosalind is an active performer and enjoys collaborating in chamber music and piano duos. In 2007, Rosalind performed Shostakovich’s 2nd Piano Concerto with orchestra and in 2010, Chopin’s 2nd Piano Concerto with a string quintet arrangement in numerous concerts. She also premiered contemporary Swiss composer’s Cecile Marti’s piece, “Changing Five” at the Swiss Ambassadors’ Residence in London. In May 2012, Rosalind went on a concert tour to Holland performing for three consecutive days where she also played the Dutch premiere of Debussy’s Jeux for two pianos, arranged by pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. In March 2013, she performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Dinas Powys Orchestra in Wales. Rosalind has also performed in many concert halls in the United Kingdom, including Cadogan Hall, St James’ Church Picadilly, and Wigmore Hall

Rosalind Phang Solo Piano Recital at Toccata Studio 

Date & Time: 28 Dec 2014 @ 3pm 

Venue: Toccata Studio, 19B, SS2/55, 47300 PJ.

Contact: 016-3618504

Admission : minimum donation RM30

Program: 

Frederic Chopin - Piano Sonata no.2 in B-flat minor, op.35 

I. Grave - Doppio movimento

II. Scherzo

III. Marche funèbre: Lento

IV. Finale: Presto

Claude Debussy - Images (Book 2)

I. Cloches à travers les feuilles

II. Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut

III. Poissons d'or

Franz Liszt - Légendes - St François de Paule: marchant sur les flots

Call/text 016-3618504 to reserve your seats now!

November!

The holidays are near! And we've returned from London and ready to put on new performances. Check out the shows below! 

Polka Dot Playground returns to Toccata Studio this 5th November!
 Join us for an evening of interactive and invigorating music! 

Featuring musicians:
Alubakhan Gideon Chen (guqin)

Jimmy Zhai (percussion)

Ng Chor Guan (theremin & laptop)

Venue: Toccata Studio, SS2

Date/Time: 5 November 2014, 8.30pm

Admission by minimum donation of RM25

Please browse our youtube website to watch the teaser if you've missed it.
Here is the youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGFoa804fPA

The 10th installment of Dance=Music Series is here! Beyond Future features two dancers whose passion is with hip hop and newer dance forms.
 Catch Jau Huei and Syaffiq Hambali this 8th & 9th November!

Venue: Toccata Studio, SS2
Date/Time: 8th November, 8.30pm / 9th November, 3pm
Admission by minimum donation of RM25


Don't miss these wonderful showcases of Malaysian contemporary art!
Call/text 016-3618504 to reserve your seats now!